Student Staff

Adnan Contractor (Peer Reviewer)

Adnan is a sophomore at Watchung Hills Regional High School in New Jersey. He has a strong passion for molecular biology and genetics and has demonstrated this with his participation in Rutgers University's DNA Sequencing Analysis Program and the USA Biology Olympiad. He aspires to major in biotechnology and/or genomic sequencing studies after high school, researching the potential of stem cell based therapies and cancer treatment. He serves as an editor for his school newspaper and an executive board member of his school's Neuroscience Club (associated with the International Brain Bee). He also participates in Track and Field and is an avid Shakespeare lover.

Akhila Gundavelli (Peer Reviewer)

Akhila Gundavelli is a sophomore at Evergreen Valley High School in San Jose, California. Her interests are in the areas of biomedical research and biotechnology and she hopes to pursue a career as a researcher in genetics. Akhila’s hobbies include art, dance (which she has been pursuing for 7 years) and Tae kwon do. She enjoys playing badminton and volunteering in her free time.

Alexander Zureick (Peer Reviewer)

Alex Zureick is a senior at Cranbrook Schools in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He has a strong interest in the field of biology and recently participated in eye research on cortical cataract formation. In addition to serving the NHSJS, he is an editor-in-chief on his school's newspaper, The Crane Clarion. His other interests include competitive swimming and playing the violin. He plans to pursue a career in a health related field.

Annasimone Andrawis (Peer Reviewer)

Annasimone Andrawis is a senior at Staten Island Technical High School. Biology has been a passionate subject of Annasimone, ever since she was in Junior High School and was accepted into the Junior Fellows program. In this program, she completed a research project on genetic mutations in the p53 gene due to smoking. Now, her focus is specifically on Neuroscience, which she currently researches hand motor control function for those with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at her local university, in order to aid in their rehabilitation and quality of life. She is also part of the Science, Engineering and Research Program at her school, that teaches her to complete college level reports and participate in peer review. Annasimone is also passionate about the field of chemistry, and is the captain of her chemistry team for science olympiad. She has won medals and certificates in chemistry events and was awarded by the chemistry society. Annasimone is also involved with a 501(c)(3) international organization called the Chiari and Syringomyelia Foundation that helps those with spinal cord disorders by making research readily available and raises money to help find a cure. She has ultimately founded the Disability Awareness Club in her school to raise teen awareness and raise extra funds for organizations. Since her passions are to ultimately interact with patients with disabilities and to learn more about the research that is being completed, she has also become a part of the Young Women in Bio Program hosted at Weil Cornell Medical College that teaches women about pursuing fields in medicine.

Ashley Yoon (Peer Reviewer)

Ashley Yoon is currently a junior at Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). Her hobbies include playing the violin, speaking, volunteering, running, writing, reading, and most importantly, sleeping. She has won numerous awards for violin, has participated in a national orchestra, and is a proud speaker who has been in finals for several national Forensics tournaments. As an officer in the club International Justice Mission, she is an active and passionate advocate for justice, as well as a person who has enough perseverance and dedication to be in Varsity Cross Country. Parallel to her passion for violin, Forensics, and justice is her love for science. She wants to study and work in a health-related field someday, and hopes to participate in a research project during her internship next summer.

Benjamin Wong (Peer Reviewer)

Benjamin Wong is a senior at Jericho High School in Jericho, NY. As a founding member and current Co-Captain of Jericho High School's Science Olympiad team, Ben has been exposed to a multitude of science and engineering topics, ideas, and fields. Ben is also a founder of a high school environmental group called AQUASORB that aims to fight water pollution by heavy-metal contamination in unique, eco-friendly ways. With background experience working in chemical engineering and structural biology research, Ben is always open to learning the newest breakthroughs in all corners of science and engineering. Besides having a passion for science and technology, Ben is a piano teacher, an English tutor, and is always eager to help others in any way possible. He is also a member of Jericho High School's Cross Country team, and enjoys making videos in his free time.

Christine Jou (Peer Reviewer)

Christine is currently a freshman attending Harvard College. A few years ago, Christine had the opportunity to conduct research at Mathworks Honors Summer Math Camp. There, she discovered that she thoroughly enjoyed the research grueling process, despite the bumps and bruises along the way. These experiences have sparked her interest in the STEM field; Christine hopes to pursue her passion for math and science as a career. When Christine first tackled her paper, she was fortunate enough to have mentors and trusted advisers review her work and give constructive criticism. This proved essential in improving her research paper. Christine hopes to return the favor and assist others just she was given that lucky opportunity.

Dain Yi (Peer Reviewer)

Dain Yi is a senior at LAMP High School in Montgomery, Alabama. She has a strong interest in technology and the sciences, especially in Chemistry, and is actively involved in several STEM-related activities including Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Biology/Chemistry Olympiad, and Computer/Programming club. She is also the head editor of her school newspaper and is part of the secretariat for her school's Model UN. Her other interests include playing the flute, bowling, volunteering, and translating articles and videos.

Daniel Coffield (Peer Reviewer)

Daniel Coffield is a junior at Charleston Catholic High School in Charleston, West Virginia. His interests include astrophysics and the integration of artificial intelligence into society. He plays varsity soccer, serves as a peer tutor, avidly reads books, and writes short stories. His favorite TV show is the Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

David Ma (Peer Reviewer)

David Ma is currently a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky. Over the past four years, he has conducted medical and environmental research at the University of Kentucky. He has also received grand and special awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In the future, he hopes to continue biological research, potentially venturing into computational biology and bioinformatics. Outside of research, David enjoys debate, violin, and quiz bowl. He is also the co-president of the school’s green team, which is focused on raising environmental awareness and improving local sustainability.

David Portnoy (Peer Reviewer)

David Portnoy is a senior at East Brunswick High School in New Jersey. He has a strong passion for both biological chemistry and public policy studies. He participated in the Liberty Science Center Partners in Science Program, researching the regulatory effects of nitrated fatty acids under Andrew J. Gow, Ph.D and participates in Model United Nations, having won numerous national competitions. Locally, he participates as an emergency medical technician cadet and is involved in township and state politics through the American Legion. He aspires to major in public policy analysis and hopes to continue research in the fields of biological chemistry and public policy as an undergraduate student. In the future, he would like to work closely with government officials in understanding epidemiological issues to determine potential solutions. In his free time, he enjoys long boarding, weightlifting, hiking, and public speaking.

Dhvanii Raval (Peer Reviewer)

Dhvanii Raval is a senior at James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She has a strong interest in molecular biology and chemistry. She has been interning at a molecular biology lab at the University of Illinois at Chicago for the past two years where she is currently assisting on a project that tracks the migration of neuroblastoma cancer cells in relation to healthy neural crest cells. She has attended multiple seminars that have sharpened her understanding of the biological sciences and allowed her to develop networking skills. In addition, she is the editor in chief of her award winning online school newspaper and was named to the Illinois All-State Journalism Team last year. Dhvanii is also one of the captains of her debate team and is a three time Illinois Congressional Debate Association (ICDA) state finalist as well as a national semi-finalist. She loves public speaking and became an international medalist at Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) for her speech on medical leadership. In her free time, Dhvanii enjoys practicing karate; she earned her black belt in spring of 2017.

Dilara Portelli (Peer Reviewer)

Dilara is a junior at Staten Island Technical High School. During her freshman and sophomore year of high school, she participated in her school's SERP (Science Engineering Research Program) Class. She was able to conduct two experiments within those two years. One involved aerodynamics and Bernoulli's principle. The other focused on the Kelvin scale of lighting and the impact it had on the short term memory of high school students. She submitted to the W!se Quality of Life competition last year, but unfortunately did not proceed to semi finals. As well, She has contributed to her school's official scientific journal and publication. She is also part of her school's Solar Car Team where they participate in the National Solar Car Challenge Competition and she has been given the title of programmer next year for her school's Underwater Robotics Team that participated in the Regional MATE ROV Scout competition. In school, she is currently president of the ALS awareness club and Marine Biology Awareness Club, helping to raise money for research in these areas. She is also a part of my school's Key Club, participating in various volunteering projects to help the community. She has also participated in the Perry Outreach Program this year, which is a program for women in medicine interested in orthopedic surgery, and involved a series of mock surgeries to perform. I have also gained experience shadowing two doctors, one being an orthopedic surgeon and one being a pediatrician, which gave me more insight into the medical profession. Lastly, she started her own non profit organization this year known as the National Organization for Small Round Cell Tumor in order to get funding for medical trials in order to find a cure.

Eshwar Ranganath (Peer Reviewer)

Eshwar Ranganath is a rising junior at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas. He is a member of many clubs at my high school such as HOSA and Outreach and is also the president of the Medical Club at Westwood. He plays the violin for my school orchestra, performing in concerts around Austin with his Carnatic (eastern classical) violin. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball and played basketball for his school during freshman year. In addition, he enjoys coaching basketball through the Round Rock Special Olympics Program. He is pursuing a career in the health sciences field with an ultimate goal of becoming a physician.

Hanna Yusuf (Peer Reviewer)

Hannah Yusuf is currently a junior at Heritage High School. Her primary interests are in biology (specifically cancer biology) and physics. She is captain of Science Quiz Bowl and a member Science Olympiad, and loves science. She has great interest in the medical field and was an attendee of Central Michigan University Camp Med and Lake Superior State University Biomedical Camp. During the next summer, she hopes to engage in a cancer research project and perhaps eventually formulate a cure to leukemia. In addition to science, she is also interested in writing and is in the process of publishing her own novel. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, volunteering, and exploring politics.

Himanshi Verma (Peer Reviewer)

Isha Goel (Peer Reviewer)

Isha Goel is a sophomore at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California. She is passionate about science mainly in the acoustics, biology, chemistry, and biotechnology fields. She is trying to currently conduct research of her own and hopes to publish it in the National High School Journal of Science. Outside of science she has a strong liking for business and is part of iDEA, a non-profit that teaches high schoolers about the different aspects of business. She is a part of the board in this association, in charge of the CAD branch, teaching computer-aided design to students at libraries. She is an officer for her DECA chapter at school to further her progress in business. Isha is also a part of the wind ensemble at her high school as a clarinet player.

Julia Zhao (Peer Reviewer)

Julia Zhao is a senior at Northfield Mount Hermon School, MA. She is passionate about Biology and Medicine, especially in the field of Immunology and cancer. She has done Immunology research for four years now, and is a co-author on a published paper on CAR-T Immunotherapy and another one on intestinal immunity. Currently, she is working on a project at Harvard Medical School on gut microbes-mediated immune response, studying how powerfully the microbiota can shape our immune system. She attended International Congress of Immunology and other conferences as well. In the future, she is planning a career in basic or clinical research. At her boarding school, she dances instensively and performed at National High School Dance Festival, leads sustainability efforts, heads the Chinese-speaking Student Association, tutors peers in STEM, participates in Science Club, and volunteers for local children.

Kaylie Hausknecht (Peer Reviewer)

Katherine Huang (Peer Reviewer)

Lily Ge (Peer Reviewer)

Lily Ge is a current senior at the Bergen County Academies in New Jersey. She is extremely passionate about neuroscience, specifically regarding machine learning and memory. She is the captain of the BCA Brainiacs, the 4th place national team winners of the USA Memory Championships, an opportunity that she is immensely thankful for and from which she has learned so much. Lily has been involved in (though "steeped in" might be a better phrase) research for the majority of her high school career, from conducting and co-authoring Multiple Sclerosis research at NYU's Langone Medical Center to studying genomics and epigenetics at Columbia University Medical Center. Lily has also dedicated her time to helping others fall in love with science, as she has, even volunteering over 150 hours of hands-on science teaching and fun at the Liberty Science Center. And, similar to the goals of the NHSJS, Lily has also been involved in her school’s school-run science research journal, Academy Scientific, for the past couple years, both as a writer and as an editor. Finally, other than science, Lily loves to stay busy with Model United Nations conferences (organizing, chairing, and being a delegate), debate, writing poetry, and playing the mandolin.

Mahak Kaur (Peer Reviewer)

Mahak Kaur is a senior at Granada Hills Charter High School in California. In addition to her rigorous International Baccalaureate classes at school, she has an interest in sports medicine and is currently doing research in sports science and health. Her interest in sports medicine sparked when she did an internship for orthopaedics where she realized that young girls like herself are also capable of handling power tools. Additionally, she is actively part of the Female Empowerment Club at school where she discusses with other members about gender equality. She has also implemented art activities in health institutions, because she believes that by engaging in art activities it can help heal patients emotionally if not physically. In addition to helping her community, she enjoys dancing and creating choreography for Bhangra, Bollywood, and Hip Hop. A fun fact about her is that she can balance 5 hula hoops all at once.

Manasi Soman (Peer Reviewer)

Manasi Soman is a junior at Hillsborough High School in Hillsborough, NJ. She is the president of her school's Robotics team and Interact club, and has a strong interest in chemistry and computerscience. She interned at Columbia University under Prof. Joachim Frank (2017 Nobel Laureate) where she conducted data analysis on their newly developed technology which will be employed in developing cancer treatments. In addition, during another summer internship at a medical-software startup, she created a virtual reality game to rehabilitate patients with dementia. While working in these fields, Manasi noticed a lack of women representation and sought to help eliminate the gender gap. To promote female involvement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, Manasi launched a non-profit organization called Creator Girls, where K-12 girls will engage in hands-on STEM workshops in her community.

Maren Sophie Sautter (Peer Reviewer)

MarenSautter is a junior at the International School of Stuttgart, Germany. She is particularly passionate about Chemistry, but enjoys biology and electrostatics, and history as well. Maren was selected to participate in an electrical engineering and chemistry workshop at the University of Stuttgart, she also introduced and currently leads the STEM-section in her schools monthly magazine, SHOUT. Her other interests include competitive rowing, playing the violin, and organising MUNISS (Model United Nations at the International School of Stuttgart). She plans to pursue a career in research, specifically pharmacology or toxicology.

Mohammad Rashad

Mohammad Rashad is a junior at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, Kentucky. He has strong interests in biology and the STEM field and is the founder and president of his school's Biology Olympiad Club as well as the captain of the Science Bowl team. Mohammad is currently conducting research on cellular immunology at the University of Kentucky and wouldlike to continue his research beyond high school. His other interests include watching and playing sports, golfing and volunteering at a local hospital. He hopes to pursue a career in the medical field in the future.

Nicholas Famularo (Outreach Specialist)

Nick is a junior at Ponte Vedra High School in Ponte Vedra, Florida. He is extremely passionate about environmental science and sustainability. He hopes to attend an Ivy League school after graduation and earn a degree in environmental science and public policy. This year, Nick is completing a science fair research project on mangrove habitat expansion. He is also working on a sustainability project with the goal of converting his school's energy to 100% solar-based. In his free time, Nick enjoys hanging out with friends, spending time outside, and volunteering at his local environmental education center. When he isn't studying for his rigorous courses or participating in extracurriculars, he enjoys sleeping.

Nicole Juhee Lee (Peer Reviewer)

Nicole is a junior at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. Her strong passion lies in biology and physics. She was a semifinalist of the USA Biology Olympiad and is a part of the school's biology research team. Over summer, she conducts scientific research, heavily focused on protein mutations and denaturation. She has been focusing on the mutation of p53 gene and its correlation with tumor development. Recently, she has turned her attention to neuroscience and is exploring the protein mutations related to the Parkinson's disease and the Alzheimer's disease. She aspires to become an oncologist in the future. Aside from her individual research, Nicole enjoys helping other students by tutoring physics, math, and biology at her school and at a local middle school. During her free time, she can be found reading or playing tennis.

Phillip Batov (Peer Reviewer and Outreach Specialist)

Phillip Batov is currently a student at Staten Island High School in New York City. He is extremely ambitious in the field of STEM, and strives to benefit the world with his innovations. Ever since he was a child, his imagination has always been wrapped up in miniscule engineering activities, and various scientific questions about the world. He is an active member of the Science Olympiad in his school, and has taken part in engineering, physics, and biology competitions throughout his high school career. Also, Phillip is a member of the Science and Engineering Research Program (S.E.R.P.) in his school, and works on many different projects and competitions. He is currently attempting to limit the spread of bacteria in his school through different implementations. Phillip received a plethora of awards for his scientific achievements, including the highest award in excellence of science at Mark Twain School for the Gifted and Talented. In his spare time, he enjoys volunteering and being a part of non-profit organizations, such as the American Red Cross, Key Club International, and the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council. He also revels in journalism, and is an editor and submitter for several publications. Joining the National High School Journal of Science was his way of giving back, and helping other aspiring researchers with their studies.

Priyanka Kadam (Peer Reviewer)

Priyanka is currently a high school junior from Western New York, and her primary interests are biology and health. While she is not sure yet whether she wants to do something research oriented, or something more clinical, she is sure she wants to have a career that allows her to learn more about the human body. In her free time, Priyanka is an active member of her school's Science Olympiad and quiz bowl team. She also enjoys playing the cello in her school's Chamber Orchestra and Pop Band, volunteering at her local nursing home, and dancing Bharatanatyam - a classical form of Indian dance.

Rachael Mathew (Peer Reviewer)

Ritika Revoori (Peer Reviewer)

Ritika Revoori is a senior at Sharon High School in Sharon, Massachusetts. She has a keen interest in chemistry biology, and medicine. In her future, she would like to pursue a career in medicine and chemistry. In her spare time, she enjoys staying on top of scientific research and advancements through random searches on Google and through social media, playing the violin, volunteering, and relaxing with a book.

Robin Hu (Peer Reviewer)

Robin is in the Highly Gifted Magnet Program at North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, CA. Her main interest lies in biology and currently focuses her time on conducting research on the pancreas. One of her completed projects is titled: Inhibitory Effects of Flufenamic Acid on the YAP-TEAD Complex through Regulation of the Hippo Pathway in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Cells. She is one of the captains of her school's Science Olympiad team and specializes in Anatomy & Physiology. In her spare time she actively participates in a variety of volunteer activities in GYM and tutoring and is the Outreach Director in her region in CASC. After participating and contributing to the completion of a textbook chapter on pancreas and biliary tree physiology, she hopes to continue to integrate herself into scientific journalism and helping others to publish their works. Robin will continue her STEM endeavors this upcoming summer with a paid internship and plans to pursue a career in medicine.

Sameen Mahmood (Outreach Specialist and Peer Reviewer)

Sameen Mahmood is one of our Outreach Specialists here at the NHSJS. In addition to being an Outreach Specialist, Sameen is an avid Science Olympiad, Academic Decathlon, orchestra, and Speech & Debate member, taking officer positions in each club. She is also the president of her school's PTP Club and is known by her friends as a huge science fanatic. Academically, Sameen takes a full load of IB (international baccalaureate) courses, along with offering chemistry tutoring for fellow peers. Her hobbies include playing the violin, singing, cooking, and anything science-related.

Samhita Bhat (Peer Reviewer)

Samhita Bhat will be a junior at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California. She is extremely passionate about science, specifically medicine, and wants to pursue a career as an oncologist or a job in the field of pediatrics. She is the the officer of Medical Explorers Post #63 a club outside of school that helps develop the passion for medicine in high school students by allowing professionals in the field of medicine to connect directly with students and talk about their career and their journey. She also is active member in the Future Practicing Physicians Network in her school which allows students to learn basic medical processes such as suturing, using a stethoscope, and dissections. She is also a teacher’s assistant for biology and physiology in her school helping teach students the concepts that are covered in class. Aside from science she loves volunteering and plays a vital role in the club Octagon, through which she has worked 100+ hours and helped run an event called Cure Cancer Cafe which raises money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She also enjoys dancing especially Bharatanatyam a form of indian classical dance which she has been doing for the past 10 years. In addition she loves to work with startups such as Proxce and WEmpower, learning a lot of the business aspects of companies, helping her work on her own startup, StudyBuddy and become an officer of the MIT Launch Club. She has also won awards for her app designs through the Dare2BDigital Competition and is also a Stanford High School Scholar through their MedEx program. She hopes to gain a more thorough understanding of the ever-improving medical field and hopes to add her own research to it as well.

Sammer Marzouk (Peer Reviewer)

Sammer Marzouk is a senior at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School in Chicago, Illinois and intends on pursuing a career in the field of neuroscience. Sammer is interested in the field of biology, specifically neuroscience and diseases and is currently completing his 3rd year of research with the University of Chicago concerning Alzheimers Disease in the Thinakaran Lab. The goal of the project is to gather data, and support for a hypothesis that shows a link between a protein and Alzheimer's pathology. Sammer has published papers in other journals such as Nature Protocols/Protocol Exchange and the Journal of Bioinformatics. Sammers' papers have also been on prominent pre-print servers such as PeerJ. While in school, Sammer is in a host of clubs, such as math team, science olympiad, student diversity council, and MSA.

Sophie Zhang (Peer Reviewer)

Sophie Zhang is a junior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey. As president of an underwater robotics team, she is passionate about using engineering to solve relevant problems and further human exploration of the world. Sophie shares her love for STEM by conducting coding and electronics workshops for younger students in her community. She is also interested in science writing and is currently an editor for Curious Science Writers, an organization dedicated to making science stories accessible to the public. In her free time, Sophie enjoys tutoring math and running at her local park.

Sri Yalamanchi (Peer Reviewer)

Sri Yalamanchi is a student at Staten Island Technical High School in New York City. She is extremely passionate and ambitious in the STEM field and wants to pursue a career as a neurologist. She is currently the captain of her school’s Science Olympiad Team in which she competed on the regional and state level and won numerous medals. She is also a part of her school’s Science and Engineering Research Program (S.E.R.P) in which she completed research projects and competed in competitions. Sri has conducted neuroscience research at her local university, looking for indicators of depression and anxiety in the neonatal brain as well as synthesizing a curcumin drug to treat glioblastomas. She is also an editor of her school’s official science journal and newsletter. Sri has participated in Weill Cornell Medical College's medical programs for high school students and has won awards in the aforementioned program. Outside of the STEM field, she plays tennis on her school’s varsity tennis team and is president of her school’s Sustainability Club, in which she strives to educate and motivate students about efficient practices that will help sustain resources in their school. She is also president of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Club in which she raises awareness and money to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Ultimately, Sri hopes to combine all her interests and help motivate other researchers, as well as furthering her own knowledge in the ever changing STEM field.

Stephanie Noh (Peer Reviewer)

Stephanie Noh is a senior at Northwood High School, and she is interested in Biology. At school, she worked as the Secretary of the Odyssey of the Mind Club in her junior year and was one of the National TEAMS Competition finalists with her team. She is also working as the President of the American Cancer Society Club, Co-President of the One Plus Chance Club, and Publicity of the Aid for Africa Club. In her free time, she enjoys playing with her dog and drawing. Stephanie joined the NHSJS staff in 2015.

Taha Umar (Peer Reviewer)

Tanya Singh (Peer Reviewer)

Tanya Singh is a writer and editor from Chandigarh, India. They are on the staff of several publications, including Pulse, and Moledro Magazine. They are also the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Cerurove, a journal that celebrates original works quality. Their work has appeared in Gone Lawn, Eunoia Review, Polyphony H.S, and elsewhere, and has been recognized by Times of India and The Great Indian Literary Festival, among other places. They like to read philosophical works and poetry. They believe that if you are reading, you are learning, as such changing and evolving, and to be learning is one of the greatest accomplishments.

Varun Patro (Peer Reviewer)

Varun is a senior at Newbury Park High School in Newbury Park, California. He has been involved in scientific research for the past 3 years, first as a research intern working in the area of protein formulation and stability, then in nucleoside chemistry, and then most recently and currently in antibody stability and viscosity reduction aimed at increasing patient convenience and reducing drug costs through personalized medicine. He enjoys learning a wide variety of scientific and mathematical concepts through online classes and his own exploration, and tutors both subjects weekly at school. He spends time playing basketball and frisbee and likes being outdoors. He reads widely and also loves to play music.

Vidhya Sundar (Peer Reviewer)

Vidhya is a junior at Cherry Hill East in New Jersey. She has been passionate about STEM since elementary school and is interested in many areas of science, such as biophysics, biochemistry, neurology, and genetics, to name a few. She has participated in the Coriell and Delaware Valley Science Fairs, winning special awards for research on bioremediation and 1st place in biochemistry for her research on GABA. She is also Vice President of her school’s Women in Science club, President of the ECHO volunteer club, and a tutor at Kumon. She likes to participate on the debate team and with her VEX Robotics team, which qualified for the 2018 World championship. In her spare time, Vidhya volunteers at a local pediatric facility, plays piano, spends time with her friends, and watches a variety of shows.

Wendy Chen (Peer Reviewer)

Wendy Chen is a junior in Walter Payton College Prep High School, Chicago. She loves learning about cancer biology and how medical treatments have been developed over time to treat infectious diseases. She also is deeply intrigued by gene modification and epigenetics, and how that can change how patients will be treated in the future. In her free time, she enjoys biking along Lake Shore Drive with friends, baking, binge watching Netflix shows, and planning trips around the world. Other activities include volunteering at elementary schools and teaching young kids about math and science.